title: Impact of humic/fulvic acid on the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions using nanomaterials: a review.
abstract: Nowadays nanomaterials have been widely used to remove heavy metals from water/wastewater due to their large surface area and high reactivity. Humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) exist ubiquitously in aquatic environments and have a variety of functional groups which allow them to complex with metal ions and interact with nanomaterials. These interactions can not only alter the environmental behavior of nanomaterials, but also influence the removal and transportation of heavy metals by nanomaterials. Thus, the interactions and the underlying mechanisms involved warrant specific investigations. This review outlined the effects of HA/FA on the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions by various nanomaterials, mainly including carbon-based nanomaterials, iron-based nanomaterials and photocatalytic nanomaterials. Moreover, mechanisms involved in the interactions were discussed and potential environmental implications of HA/FA to nanomaterials and heavy metals were evaluated.
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, PR China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, PR China.
authors.forename: Wang-Wang
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Guang-Ming
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Ji-Lai
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Piao
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bin-Bin
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D001578:Benzopyrans / Q000737:chemistry*; D006812:Humic Substances; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010777:Photochemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001578:Benzopyrans; D006812:Humic Substances; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C005023:fulvic acid
keywords: Heavy metals; Humic/fulvic acid; Interaction mechanism; Nanomaterials